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Apple Working on Cold Weather Multi-touch Capable Gloves

MacRumors reports of a recent Apple patent application that has been released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, detailing the use of gloves that will allow a user to operate a broad array of electronic devices.

As any iPhone/iPod touch user residing in a northern climate will know, when the temperature drops significantly, it makes it difficult to operate your device without losing feeling in your fingertips. Credited to Ashwin Sunder and Steven Hotelling at Apple, the invention is not only designed to be used with Multi-touch devices, but covers a wide variety electronic contrivances as well.

Macrumors reports that the gloves consist of a thin inner shell and a thicker outer outer shell and provide the user several methods of operation. One includes the use of electronically conductive materials that allows the transmitted signal from the user’s finger to be recognized by the input mechanism on the device. Apple does, however, recognize that the tactile response is hindered when wearing the gloves, yet removable finger caps can alleviate some of these issues.

While this patent, as with many others may never come to fruition, it does demonstrate a concerted effort on Apple’s behalf, to address the issue of geo-specific use of their products. Dots Gloves, The North Face, and Freehands have also attempted to make Mutli-touch friendly gloves.